


Just trying to find a face to make me feel something

by Icie



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, M/M, general tenderness, implied depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-17 04:56:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14181174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icie/pseuds/Icie
Summary: When Tetsurou first meets Oikawa Tooru, he is carrying supplies back to the store, and Tooru is selling his soul.Tetsurou shifts the box more comfortably onto his hip, and watches for a moment to make sure he's not jumping the gun.When Tooru brings something sharp and pointy to his finger, Tetsurou speaks up. "You don't need to be doing that."Kuroo is a cat who picks up strays.





	Just trying to find a face to make me feel something

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pennyofthewild](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennyofthewild/gifts).



When Tetsurou first meets Oikawa Tooru, he is carrying supplies back to the store, and Tooru is selling his soul.

Tetsurou shifts the box more comfortably onto his hip, and watches for a moment to make sure he's not jumping the gun.

When Tooru brings something sharp and pointy to his finger, Tetsurou speaks up. "You don't need to be doing that."

The knife hits the concrete, and the demon vanishes in a puff of putrid smoke.

Tooru whirls on Tetsurou, ready to snarl.

Tetsurou picks up a tomato from the box, and offers it before Tooru can get a word out. "Come in and I'll make you tea."

Tooru comes in. Tetsurou makes him tea.

*

Oikawa can't figure Kuroo out. He's not human, that's obvious enough—tails on humans aren't exactly common—but he acts like one, and he seems to care, which is unusual. He'd brought Oikawa into the store where Kuroo works part time, called out to the older man on the till that he's taking his break, and ushered him through to the back room, where he made him tea.

Oikawa laces his fingers around the small ceramic cup, and watches as the sediment settles on the bottom. The lights catch the ripples on the surface and he can't hold still enough to prevent them while Kuroo talks about everything but what he stopped Oikawa from doing.

The room is sparse in the way that frequently used but impersonal spaces often are. There's a couch and a chair both of which are well worn, a mini-fridge and a sink with a small collection of crockery and cutlery next to it. Kuroo lounges on the couch, while Oikawa sits on the chair. He has a long black tail, soft pointed ears covered in black fur which matches the tail, and when he grins (apparently his default expression) he shows off a set of pointed teeth.

Oikawa blinks as he realises that Kuroo asked him a question, and he has no idea what the question was. He smiles, apologetically, or some approximation thereof.

Kuroo laughs. "Tonight, you have a place to stay? The lake is about to freeze over, so I don't recommend camping out."

Oikawa considers his options, there aren't many, and all of them make his stomach turn. He finds himself staring at his tea again. He hasn't replied.

"I'd let you stay in here, but Nekomata would skin me and turn me into a coat," Kuroo says. "Pretty sure he has a tannery all lined up for the inevitable day. But you can stay at my place. Me and my mum, we have room." 

Oikawa finds himself nodding, because he can't think of what to say.

*

The only thing Tooru says to Tetsurou for the first two days is his name. He speaks to Tetsurou's mum, but it's like he's churning out stock phrases. If his accent wasn't flawless Tetsurou would think he doesn't speak Japanese.

He eats like a mouse, nibbling around the edges of his food, except for bread, where he pulls off the crust and leaves it in a tidy pile on one side of his plate. He doesn't sleep, to the point where Tetsurou wonders whether he hasn't picked up a yokai in disguise. Apart from picking at his food and not sleeping, he helps around the house, poorly.

"Bag needs changing," Tetsurou says, thoroughly amused as Tooru tries to vacuum a spot for five minutes without success.

" _Fuck_ ," he says.

"God, I love you," Tetsurou says, not containing his laughter, and opens up the vacuum to empty it. "I'm buying groceries today, well, mostly scoring leftovers from Nekomata's place. But if you want anything give me a heads up."

Tooru doesn't reply, but does nod, which Tetsurou understands. After all, he's already used up his word for the day.

Tetsurou returns the now empty vacuum bag to the rest of the vacuum. "Okay, you're good to go. Let me know if you need anything," he says, wryly, because there is no way Tooru will.

The morning of the third day, Tetsurou wakes up to Tooru's brown eyes an inch from his face. Tetsurou yawns, wide and in Tooru's face, which is definitely rude, but he _was_ asleep.

*

A wave of morning breath hits him and Oikawa flinches.

"Did you sleep at all?" Kuroo asks him, amazingly unconcerned about Oikawa's proximity.

Oikawa makes himself use his words. If Kuroo would just get angry with him, he'd be able to speak easily, but he has to be _nice_. The cat he meets in a dark alley as he's trading his soul for a life had to be _nice_. "I'm not tired."

Kuroo smiles, and it's like he's never smiled at Oikawa before. "Liar," he says, as affectionately as if he was calling Oikawa a pet name. "C'm'ere," he says and pulls Oikawa closer, catching him off balance and winding up with Oikawa crashing into him, and somehow trapped in an embrace with Kuroo's hair tickling the back of his neck, and his tail gently waving against his leg. "Sleep some. I don't have to work until the afternoon, wake me up then?"

"Let me go," Oikawa says. He attempts to sound dignified, but it's hard when he's being held captive by an oversized cat. And harder when he doesn't actually want to go.

"Nah," Kuroo mumbles. "Goodnight."

"It's _morning_!" Oikawa hisses, but Kuroo just pulls him closer, and goes back to sleep.

*

The reason Tooru never sleeps could well be because he drools. It's adorable. Tetsurou wipes it off his cheek with the corner of his towel and leaves him to it, but he pauses before he heads off to work and de-crusts some bread so that Tooru might actually eat while he's out.

He passes by the alley where he first met Tooru and hesitates. It's none of his business, but the knife he was going to use to draw blood and give away his soul is still there. He rubs his temple. It belongs to Tooru, no doubt about that. Demons don't provide their own knives. But he doesn't know whether he wants him to have it. Or, scratch that, he _knows_ he doesn't want him to have it. He doesn't want Tooru around anything sharp, or poisonous, or in buildings more than one storey tall. But knowing that doesn't mean that he thinks he _should_ keep him from those things.

" _Fuck_ ," he says to himself. He folds his sweatshirt sleeve down over his hand and picks up the knife. He hisses through his teeth. It's not cursed, but it's getting there, and it makes Tetsurou's teeth itch. "You're a nasty piece of work," he tells it, "Tooru's a good guy, he's keeping his soul."

Funnily enough, the knife doesn't reply.

The knife sits like a weight on his mind as his shift starts, and by his break he's about to use it on himself to end his frustration. He groans to no one, earning a sideways look from Nekomata, which he tries and fails to return casually. Nekomata doesn't care. He likes Tetsurou, probably. "I'm gonna use the phone," he says and ducks into the back room.

He dials, the phone rings, and Tetsurou waits. Tooru doesn't answer, and the answering machine eventually beeps. "Oi, Tooru, you can pick up. It's me." He pauses. "Uh, Kuroo. Tetsurou. You could pick up if it wasn't me, too. I mean, if you're cool with speaking. Which is pretty much what I wanted to talk to you about, y'know? So it would be great if you—"

The line clicks, and Tooru speaks. "Tetsu-chan?"

"Hey," he says. God, he likes this boy.

Seconds pass. "Is there something you need?" Tooru asks.

Tetsurou shakes his head, grinning and leaning back on the couch. "Nah, I just wanted to talk about some stuff. I realised I haven't been all that clear about things."

Silence from the other end of the line.

"Let me know if you've used up all your words, okay?" he pauses. "Though I guess that's hard over the phone, huh? Shit, I didn't think this through." He takes a breath. "You can work something out."

Tooru makes a small sound, which is enough of a yes for the moment.

"First, I found your knife," he says. "From that night. I wasn't sure if you wanted to—"

"Toss it," Tooru says.

Tetsurou loses tension he hadn't realised he was still carrying. "Really?" he says, teasing, though maybe he shouldn't. "Because it's a pretty nice knife. Could be magical—worth something."

Tooru sniffs. Tetsurou laughs, and continues on, resting easier now he knows he can get rid of the damned knife.. "So, look, I think you're pretty great, and I get that it's weird but Mum likes you too, and she's in charge, so you can stay as long as you like. It can be home, if that's what you want."

He thinks he hears Tooru take a breath.

He smiles. "I'm good, but not that good. Gimme a hint."

"Thank you."

Tetsurou chuckles. It's still not a yes, but it's close enough. "Welcome."


End file.
